USA > Virginia > Arlington County > Arlington County > Historic Arlington. A history of the National cemetery from its establishment to the present time > Part 8
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opinion in which he reviewed the legal history of the suits for re- covery and the title of the claimant to the property. This title of Mr. Lee was found to be without flaw, and the deed submitted by him fulfilled all the requirements of the provisions of the act of March 3d. Accordingly the opinion of the Attorney-General con- cludes with the statement : "Therefore I am of the opinion thai. the deed of Mr. Lee may properly be accepted upon the terms proposed." Upon the receipt of the opinion of Attorney-General Brewster Secretary Lincoln ordered the Secretary of the Treasury to make the payment provided for in the appropriation. Shortly after, Mr. Lee received the sum of $150,000 from the Treasury Department and the United States came into possession of a per- fect and flawless title to the Arlington House estate.
The authors of this work, at great labor and expense, have ob- tained the following document showing the manner in which the lands under discussion have changed owners from the days of Gov. Berkeley in 1669 to the present time :
" An abstract of title to the Arlington House estate, a tract of land containing about 1,100 acres, situate in Alexandria county, formerly Fairfax 'county, State of Virginia. The land was a part. of the grant or patent from Sir William Berkeley, Governor of Vir- ginia, to Robert Howser, dated October 21, 1669, under which John and Gerard Alexander asserted title as late as 1735. In the- case of Birch v. Alexander, 1. Wash. (Va.) R. 34, this grant was- maintained by the court of appeals.
Gerard Alexander, by his will, dated August 9, 1760, devised the same to his son Gerard. Vide Will Book B, p. 327, Fairfax county records. Gerard Alexander and Jane, his wife, conveyed the same to John Parke Custis by deed, dated December 25, A. D. 1778. The general index shows that such a deed was recorded Liber N, Fairfax county records, but, with other records of that. county, was lost or destroyed during the late war. A certified copy of the original deed has been preserved and is submitted with this abstract for delivery to the United States as a muni- ment of title. Pursuant to a decree of Fairfax county court dated June 21, 1796, in a suit wherein the representatives of John Parke Custis were complainants and the heirs of Gerard Alex- ander were defendants, the portion of Gerard Alexander, Jr., in the lands of his father were allotted to the legal representative .
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of the said John Parke Custis. The record of this suit was, how- ever, lost or destroyed in the late war.
John Parke Custis died, intestate, on the 5th of November, A. D. 1781, ætat 28. The law of primogeniture was then in force, and this estate descended to his only son, George W. P. Custis. As to the time of his death, Irving's 'Life of Washington,' vol. 4, p. 358, and a certificate of the clerk of Fairfax county show that ad- ministration of his estate had been granted by that court prior to February 20, 1782.
Primogeniture in Virginia was abolished by an act passed Octo- ber, 1785, to take effect January 1, 1787. (Hening's Statutes, vol. 12, p. 138.) George Washington Parke Custis died seized and possessed of this estate in 1857. By his will, dated March 26, 1855, it was devised to his only child, Mary Ann Randolph Lee, for life, remainder in fee to his 'eldest grandson, George W. C. Lee, to him and his heirs forever, he, my said eldest grandson, taking my name and arms' (Will Book No. 7, p. 267, Alexandria county court), and for copy of said will and decree admitting same to probate vide record of the case, The United States v. G. W. C. Lee, pp. 74-75.
In that suit it was proved that Geo. Wash. Parke Custis had possessed and lived upon the estate for more than 35 years, prior to its institution, and by the land books of the county that the estate had been listed and assessed for taxation as the property of Geo. W. P. Custis during his lifetime, and he was born prior to 1780.
Mrs. M. A. R. Lee, the tenant for life, died in 1873, and as G. W. C. Lee did not take the name and arms of his grandfather, to avoid any question of his title, his heirs, who were the children of Mrs. Lee, waived in a release any claim they might have to the whole. (Vide Liber B, No. 4, folio 414, Alexandria County Court; also record of above-mentioned suit, pp. 78 and 79.)
The estate was held and possessed by Mrs. Lee until 1861, since which period the United States has held it in possession, and since 1864, when it was held for direct taxes, has claimed it as absolute owner."
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CHAPTER VIII.
THE NATIONAL CEMETERY-A GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF ARLINGTON, WITH AN ACCOUNT OF SOME OF THE DISTINGUISHED SOLDIERS BURIED THERE.
The cemetery as it appears to the visitor now presents, seem- ingly, endless vistas of marble headstones, stretching out in un- broken lines like the silent army of the dead standing in review before the succeeding generation of the living. Notwithstanding this, however, only a small portion of the ground enclosed within the walls of Arlington is occupied by graves. The rest is still taken up with the sloping lawns and groves of magnificent oaks, with here and there bits of wild wood, as yet unadorned by the art of the landscape gardener.
The main entrances to the grounds are along the Georgetown and Alexandria road, which skirts the hills of the cemetery and winds its way along the level ground below. Here there are three gates, flanked by columns and ornamented by arches, and a fourth, known as the new gate, which swings between massive piles of masonry that once formed a portion of the old War Department. building. The first of these gates is the Ord and Weitzel gate. On either side is a tall column surmounted by a funeral urn, and on the columns are inscribed the names of Gens. Ord and Weitzel. Lower down the road is a larger and more imposing entrance, known as the Sheridan gate. Here there are four columns sup- porting a moulded cross-piece of stone. The name Sheridan stands out in bold relief from the masonry, and on each of the four columns is a distinguished name. The names are Scott, Lin- coln, Stanton, and Grant. The third gate is the Mcclellan gate. At this the entrance to the grounds is marked by a massive struc- ture of red sandstone, artistic in its design and imposing in its strength and beauty. Over the gateway is the name of tlie con- queror at the battle of Antietam, and beneath it an appropriate inscription. The fourth gate is a new gate, very simple in its de- sign and as yet but little used.
From each of these gates roadways winding through beautiful
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groves of trees lead to the mansion. From the Ord and Weitzel gate the road takes the visitor through a narrow strip of ground in which the first burials during the war were made. The strip contains not more than an acre or two, but in it are about 5,000 graves. It terminates in a narrow point formed by the road and the stone wall of the cemetery, and above this point is a large circu- lar bed of flowers Passing the flowers, the road plunges sud- denly into a wood so dense and wild that one wonders if the peaceful little burying-ground through which he has passed can have any connection with the great national cemetery. Proceeding, this feel- ing of wonder increases as along hillsides and through deep ravines the road winds its way, flanked all the time by sturdy oaks and a dense undergrowth of saplings, till suddenly, after a steep climb, it emerges from the natural forest into the area of well- cared-for grounds about the stately old mansion.
The roads that lead up from the other gates have about them none of the wild beauty that marks the thoroughfare just de- scribed, but they are none the less beautiful. They pass beneath the spreading branches of gigantic oaks, and wind about on ter- races, flanked by smooth rolling lawns. The grounds through which they pass formed originally the park of the Custis estate, and few changes have been made in them since the good-natured founder of the place put them in shape. The Government has improved the roads and smoothed down the rough places, but the natural beauty of the place remains as it was when Custis, as a young man, first erected Arlington House. At intervals along both roads huge blocks of hewn stone are found which were placed in their present positions years ago and used as seats by Custis and his friends.
All the roads, no matter at what place the entrance to the grounds is made, lead to but one central point, the picturesque old house. It stands embowered in virgin trees, the most in- teresting feature still of the vast resting-place of the dead, while ranged about it, in shady wood or sunny dell, the myriads of graves seem fittingly to harmonize with thoughts of its departed greatness. Some description of the old mansion has heretofore been given, and as it stands to-day exactly as it did in the time of Parke Custis there seems little need to repeat it.
The change from the past to the present is shown in the inte-
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rior of the house. Blank, cheerless walls greet one where, fin years gone by, hung objects of artistic value, while the bare rooms can now give but little idea of the life and cheerfulness that once reigned there.
Over the main entrance to the building hangs a sign, " Super- intendent's Office," and the door on the right that opens from the hallway leads to the apartments occupied by that official. The upper floor of the building and the entire right wing are taken up by the superintendent's appartments, and are not open to the public. The rooms on the left are always open, but they possess very little of interest.
A few shields, bearing appropriate inscriptions ; pictures of two or three different sections of the grounds; the great Decoration Day orations of President Lincoln and Robert G. Ingersoll set in frames, and a desk, at which visitors are requested to register their names in a large book that lies upon it, are all that they contain.
Directly in front of the main entrance stands the flag-pole, and on the hill beside it are the graves of the two illustrious com- manders, Gen. P. H. Sheridan and Admiral Porter. The Admiral's grave is to the left and is still unmarked by stone of any kind. A fence of chains surrounds it and indicates the space where, in the near future, a monument worthy of the dead man's fame will be erected.
Over the grave of Gen. Sheridan stands the most beautiful mon- ument at Arlington. It is a block of highly polished granite. Upon its face is a bronze flag and medallion, the latter containing a head of the dead general in high relief. The bronze cast is the work of Samuel Kitson, of Boston, and has been greatly admired as a likeness of Gen. Sheridan. The grave itself is overgrown with ivy, and is enclosed by a chain suspended from pillars of stone.
On the same slope and but a few yards distant from the grave of Sheridan is the grave of Surg .- Gen. Jedediah Hyde Bax- ter, whose death occurred in December, 1890. This grave is also surmounted by a handsome monument. Other graves on this hillside are those of Bvt. Maj .- Gen. J. H. Mower and Gen. Sam- uel David Sturgis.
It is the intention of the War Department to reserve the slope on which these graves are located as the burial-place of highly-
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distinguished officers of either the Army or Navy. As yet the graves mentioned are the only ones it contains, but the remains of Gen. Crook will before long be included in the number. At pres- ent Gen. Crook is buried in what is known as the officers' section.
The section set apart for the burial of officers lies along the level ridge that extends back from the mansion, in the direction of Fort Myer. It is divided by a roadway into two portions, and is separated from the general burying-ground by the road that leads from the Fort Myer gate, past the rostrum and amphithea- tre, to the Arlington house. Here lie many distinguished officers who served their country bravely, and over their remains stand handsome monuments of sombre granite and glistening marble. It is the one spot in the cemetery where any departure from the simple style of gravestone provided by the Government has been permitted, and as a result the spot is rapidly becoming one of the most beautiful to be found there. No attempt at uniformity in the style of these monuments has been attempted, but loving friends and admiring comrades have been allowed to exercise their fancy in the erection of these testimonials of regard.
The most ornate marble shafts are to be found here bearing in- scriptions that show the services rendered by the dead heroes and the esteem of those who served with them, while equally conspic- uous by their simplicity are the rough-hewn blocks of granite that mark many of the graves. The latter, indeed, predominate, and a striking feature of this part of the cemetery is the absence of all ostentatious display about the memorials reared to perpet- uate the fame of those who rest beneath them. The rough-hewn granite blocks, the undressed shafts bearing upon their faces but the name and rank of the dead soldier, are suggestive in their simplicity of the rugged, forceful character of the men who planned campaigns and led their troops to battle. They are as if death had stripped commanders of all the gaudy trappings of war and now hold up, for veneration and respect, the simple man beneath. Here lie the venerable Harney, the courageous Paul, the dashing Ricketts, the indefatigable Crook, the resourceful Meigs, the gal- lant Belknap, and many others, whose records both in peace and war entitle them to the grateful remembrance of their countrymen.
An object of general interest to visitors is the sarcophagus of lresse 1 marble which contains the bodies of Gen. M. C. Meigs,
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Quartermaster-General of the army during the entire civil war, and of his wife, Louisa Rogers Meigs. About this are the graves of other members of the Meigs family. At one side of the sar- cophagus is the grave of Lieut. John Rogers Meigs, the eldest son of Gen. Meigs, who was killed in battle in 1864. The young man was chief of engineers in the Army of the Shenandoah. A rectangular block of black marble, on which rests a bronze figure of the young soldier as he was found on the battle-field, marks the grave. On the other side of the sarcophagus, marked by a simple shaft of stone, is the grave of Gen. Meigs' father, Josiah Meigs, who was Commissioner of the General Land Office in the early years of the century. Two children of Gen. Meigs, Charles D. and Vincent Trowbridge Meigs, are also buried near. Not far from this group of graves is a marble slab over the last rest- ing-place of Col. John McComb, an able officer, and for years before the war one of that distinguished group of friends that included Lee, Johnston, Meigs, and others.
An undressed granite shaft half enveloped in clinging ivy rears its lofty height over the grave of Brig .- Gen. William B. Hazen, for years Chief Signal Officer of the United States, whose death occurred in 1887. Brig .- Gen. Gabriel R. Paul, who lost both his eyes in the furious charge of the Union forces at Gettys- burg, is buried near by, with a granite column to mark his grave. Near that of Gen. Paul is the grave of Brig .- Gen. Plummer, whose death in 1864 occurred in camp, near Corinth, Mississippi, and was caused by wounds received in battle. Bvt. Maj .- Gen. John H. Kirk is also buried near by, and over his grave stands a beau- tiful granite block, with polished sides tastefully ornamented.
A plain dressed granite shaft simple in outline and unpreten- tious in appearance rises above the grave of Gen. Ricketts and bears upon its polished faces the brief record of his long and faith- ful services. Gen. James Brewerton Ricketts at the time of his death, September 22, 1887, was a major-general in the U. S. Army. On graduating at West Point he was assigned to artillery service on the Canadian frontier. He served through the war with Mex- ico ; was on frontier duty for several years in Texas ; was engaged in 27 battles of the rebellion ; was wounded five times, and lan- guished as a prisoner of war in the rebel prison at Richmond. He died from wounds received while commanding the Sixth corps in the
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Shenandoah valley. No more daring or chivalrous soldier lies be- neath the Arlington sod than Ricketts, and the members of his old command lovingly deck his tomb with flowers on each recurring Memorial Day.
But a few steps away a dressed granite cube, simple to the point of bareness, is erected in memory of Gen. Myers, a lieuten- ant-colonel and brevet brigadier-general in the U. S. Army, whose record needs no wordy monument or showy shaft. Another plain granite cube near by bears the name of Thomas G. Baylor, who bore a distinguished part in the civil war as chief ordnance officer of the Army of the Cumberland, and the military division of the Mississippi, on the staff of Gen. Sherman. The grave of Brig .- Gen. Jones, for a number of years inspector-general in the U. S. Army, is marked by a simple, tasteful monument, and is located towards the western end of the officers' section. The stone placed above the grave of Capt. Adolphus H. C. Von Dach- enhausen is of pure white marble and bears carved upon it the cavalry sabre that marks the branch of service to which Capt. Von Dachenhausen belonged. He was a member of the German nobility and was born in the kingdom of Hanover in 1815. A rough-hewn granite cross near by bears simply the name of Lieut. J. D. Mann, and the two dates 1855-1891, the sole record of a brave young officer. Capt. Charles Parker, of the 9th U. S. cav- alry, is buried not far from here, his grave being marked by a small upright slab of white marble.
At the upper end of this section, near the rostrum, a rough granite block surmounts .the grave of Surg .- Gen. Charles H. Crane, of the U. S. Army, who died in 1883. Near here is also the tomb in which are interred the remains of Cornelia Wyntje Smith, wife of Gen. Absalom Baird, Inspector-General of the U. S. Army. There are several living officers of the U. S. Army who have erected ante-mortem monuments at Arlington. The most striking of these is the polished granite block marking the lot in which is buried the wife of Capt. J. D. Young, and bearing the name of the living officer, with the date of his birth, and a space to be filled in when he shall have been awarded his last promotion.
One of the strikingly beautiful monuments among the many in the officers' section is that erected to the memory of Stephen C. Lyford, major of ordnance. It is a massive block of rough-
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dressed granite, polished in sections and tastefully inscribed. Another is that of Maj. R. L. Shelly. It is similar in design to that of Maj. Lyford, but on the face is a bronze wreath of oak leaves, from which is suspended the badge of the corps with which he served. This is arranged with such artistic skill that the bronze blends with the rough stone on which it rests with perfect harmony.
Many other distinguished officers lie in this section, some of whose graves are ornamented with handsome stones. Others have but the regulation headstone provided by the Government to mark their resting-place, while quite a number have but a small piece of pine board to indicate where, in the future, monu- ments will be erected.
Gen. Harney's grave is still unmarked by anything but a simple slab, and in many other instances friends and relatives of the de- ceased have deferred the placing of monuments over their graves until they can secure such memorials as they think worthy of their heroes. Among the large list of officers whose remains occupy these grounds are Capt. W. P. Mathews, a brevet colonel of volunteers ; Capt. Charles Stuart Heintzelman, Lieut .- Col. Theo- dor Sterling West, of the 24th Wisconsin Volunteers ; Lieut. R. B. Walkins, Col. Edgar O'Conner of the 2d Wisconsin Infantry ; Commander E. E. Stone, of the Navy; Maj. Samuel Perry Lee, of the Maine Volunteers ; Lieut. Thomas Goode Morrow, who was promoted from the ranks to a lieutenancy in the 11th Ohio Cavalry ; Maj. H. J. Farnsworth, and many others.
The second section of the grounds set apart for the interment of officers is separated from the northern part by a narrow road- way. In this section are found the names of some of the most distinguished officers of the United States Army who have recently died. Located at the upper end are the graves of Maj .- Gen. George Crook, Bvt. Maj .- Gen. W. W. Belknap, and Bvt. Brig .- Gen. W. W. Burns. None of these are marked by stones of any kind, but over the graves of Gens. Belknap and Burns monuments are to be erected, while the remains of Gen. Crook are soon to be removed to the slope in front of the mansion and buried near the grave of Sheridan. When this is done a hand- some stone will be placed over them. The most beautiful and artistic monument in this section is one of polished red marble,
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pyramidal in form, erected to the memory of Real Admiral Charles S. Stedman, who was born in South Carolina, September 24, 1811, and died November 13, 1890. The stone is tastefully lettered and bears upon one face an artistically-executed bit of carving, sym- bolic in character-a veiled sword. On the side faces are the words, full of significance in their brevity, "Fort Fisher, St. John's Bluff, Vera Cruz, Port Royal," the battles in which the hale old seaman participated. Other officers buried around him are N. B. Clark, chief engineer United States Navy ; M. La Rue Harrison, colonel First Arkansas Cavalry, and Col. P. H. Alla- bach, of the 13th Pennsylvania Infantry.
Several old, time-scarred shafts and slabs of sandstone and marble, bearing quaint old epitaphs in antique lettering, in the upper part of the northern section devoted to officers, are among the most interesting monuments in the cemetery. They will at- tract the attention and probably arouse the curiosity of the visi- tor, as they bear the names of families prominent in the early colonial and revolutionary periods of American history. The dates of interment, moreover, are so old as to cause inquiry, as they all antedate the establishment of the national cemetery by many years. These ancient stones cover the remains of officers of the Revolutionary army, and public officials of the early years of this century. The bodies and tombstones were removed to Arlington from the old Presbyterian burying-ground on the demolition of that cemetery, about a year ago. All bodies were ordered removed from the consecrated precincts of the century- old churchyard, and the National Government prevented the dese- cration of these old tombs by removing them to Arlington. They are eleven in number, four being marked by upright shafts and seven by oblong slabs laid flat upon the ground, in the fashion of the long ago.
A red sandstone shaft stands over the remains of John A. Davis, lieutenant in the navy, who died in 1854. Next to this are a num- ber of slabs covering the graves of Caleb Swan, Paymaster-Gen- eral of the United States Army, who died in 1809 ; William Wood Burrows, lieutenant-colonel and commandant of the United States Marine Corps, whose death occurred in 1805; Margaret Cassin, the wife of Commodore Stephen Cassin, who died in 1830 ; Har- riet B. McComb, widow of Commander-in-Chief McComb, of the
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United States Army ; James A. Wilson, a purser in the navy, why died in 1819 ; Gen. Thomas Mason, of Uniontown, Pennsylvania, who died in 1813, and Edward Jones, who was chief clerk of the Treasury Department under Washington's administration.
A small marble shaft bears the inscription :
General James House, U. S. A.
He died in 1834. A small gray stone next to this was erected to the memory of Virginia, wife of George Mason, of Hallin Hall, Va. She was also a daughter of Gen. John Mason, and died in 1838. The last of these tombstones is one erected to Alexander McComb and his wife, Jane Marshall, the former of whom died in 1830, and the latter in 1849.
The general burying-ground, where thousands of dead Union soldiers lie, spreads over a level plateau that extends from the western wall of the cemetery to the mansion, and southward from the road to Fort Myer several hundred yards. Here there is a perfect grove of forest and ornamental trees, beneath the branches of which extend the long rows of glittering white headstones as far as the eye can reach. The headstones are all alike-simple marble slabs, rising about two feet from the ground and bearing the names and regiments of those whose graves they mark. The alignment of the stones is so perfect that they suggest the idea of regiments drawn up for inspection. ›
As shown in the map that accompanies this work, the cemetery is divided into sections. Sections A and B are located in the ex- treme northwestern corner of the grounds, near the Ord and Weitzel gate, and, as already described, are separated from the main por- tion of the institution by a piece of heavy woodland. Sections C, D, E, and F occupy the plateau, the first commencing at the western wall, and the last one terminating on a line with the man- sion. These sections extend north and south. (At the southern extremity of section C is located a space occupied entirely by graves of Confederate dead, and beside it is what is known as the post cemetery, where the bodies of those who die at Fort Myer are interred. Near the post cemetery, and at the southern end of section D, is the "Sylvan Grove," a beautiful grove of maples, planted in rows and standing so close together that their branches, intermingling, form an unbroken canopy of foliage overhead. Be-
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